


East of the Sun, West of the Moon

by Thelittlescrimshaw



Category: Fairy Tales & Related Fandoms, Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: (Cupid and Psyche), AU, Alternate Universe - Still Have Powers, Based off of East of the Sun West of the Moon, F/M, Finn and Rey went with Han and Chewie back to the Resistance base and found Luke, Han still alive, Rey goes away to save her friends, Sort of? - Freeform, Still Jedi, Team as Family, This takes place before Takodana, and has to stay in the cavern for a year, but all goes to shit, kylo ren is the white bear/prince, rey is the youngest daughter, you know the story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-02
Updated: 2016-06-06
Packaged: 2018-06-05 20:27:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6722149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thelittlescrimshaw/pseuds/Thelittlescrimshaw
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Resistance is failing; Luke's in bad health, and there is no balance to the Force. When Obi-Wan Kenobi's Force Ghost makes Rey and offer - if she stays in a far-away cavern on a distant planet, she will find a way to heal Luke, defeat Snoke, and bring balance to the force - she takes it. </p><p>She does not realize that the masked host is Kylo Ren, and she does not realize the consequences of unmasking him. </p><p>I'm weaving Star Wars: TFA into the classic fairy tale, and adding some smut in too ;)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. In Medias Res

**Author's Note:**

> So...I might be a little hypomanic and I miiiiight be on a Reylo Bender. But this idea was niggling at me, and I couldn't stop it, so here goes. 
> 
> This is me attempting to weave my favorite fairy tale into the Star Wars universe, with Kylo Ren as the "white bear" role and Rey as the "youngest daughter." Snoke represents the trolls, obviously.

It was her third day alone in the castle, and Rey was getting _bored._

When the Force Ghost had approached her and made her an offer she couldn’t refuse, Rey’d initially been wary. Of _course_ she’d been wary – she was the youngest Jedi-in-training, not yet a Knight, scarcely with her own saber. Going off, alone, with only a Force-Ghost of a long-dead Jedi Knight to guide her wasn’t her ideal way to spend her winter.

But Luke’s health was failing.

But Leia was growing more and more worried.

But Han was never around.

But Poe was losing weight from not eating.

But the light had drained from Finn’s eyes, and he never smiled anymore.

The Force Ghost wasn’t unkind – he was an old man, with pale eyes and an open face. But his offer…

“You’re sure?” she said. They were out in the woods, away from the Resistance base. “You’re _positive_ this will work?”

The Force-Ghost nodded. _“You can even tell Luke. Tell him that his old master said so.”_

Rey’s eyes widened. “You’re – you’re Ben Kenobi!”

_“I am. I come here not to trick you, child, but because I’m concerned for my former apprentice.”_

“I’ll do it,” Rey said. “Just give me two days to prepare.”

They day she was about to leave, Master Luke had confronted her.

“No,” he said. It must’ve been a good day for him, if he’d had the energy to do this, to stand between her and her goal.

“But Ben Kenobi said –“

Luke shook his head. “I’ll not have you risk your life for this!”

Rey shouldered the bag she’d packed. “I’m going, Luke. It’s for everyone. If we can find a way to defeat Snoke, once and for all, the entire First Order will fall.” She left out the part about finding a cure for his aliment, left out the part about restoring balance to the Force – that could come later. “I’m going, with your blessing or not.”

And she’d raised her chin, challenging him.

Luke’s eyes were harsh; they bore no resemblance to his master’s, Rey thought.

“Don’t let me see you leave,” he said, finally.

Rey left on an X-Wing in the dead of the night.

* * *

That had been a week ago.

Now Rey was trapped in a castle hewn into a mountain on a planet where the sun rose in the west and set in the east, guest to an invisible host, and thoroughly _bored._

So she did what any sensible almost-Jedi would do: she went exploring.

The castle was large, and grand: it reminded Rey of a different time. There was something ancient here, and a great power.

Whether that power was good or not, she couldn’t say.

There was a great dining hall, where her meals appeared three times a day; a library, one with actual _books_ and not holos; the last time Rey had seen a book, she was ten and on Jakku, and it had gotten her ten portions from a collector. She ran her hand, idly, over the spines of them, but not daring to take any off the shelves.

 Oftentimes, Rey felt herself get lost. She’d taken to making tiny etches on the stone walls, marks that would mean nothing to a passerby but told her where to go.

Ben Kenobi had appeared twice during her visit, giving her basic instructions: do not be afraid, the food is yours to eat, go exploring, and do your meditations.

Of _course_ he’d remind her to do her meditations, Rey thought, as she wandered around the halls. There were several bedrooms, each more opulent than the next, but Rey had the distinct feeling that the one just near the double staircase was hers. She didn’t know why – it was more luxurious than anything she’d ever slept in before, with a great, soft bed piled high with blankets and pillows, a plush carpet softer than the pallet she’d had in Jakku, a vanity, a mirror, a wardrobe filled with clothes, and a –

It was unlike any ‘fresher she’d ever seen: the entire thing was cut from marble, all of the faucets gilded. There was no shower head, but instead a large tub, high as her shoulder, that she needed stairs to get into. It was brightly lit, and spacious, and Rey felt a pang of guilt: here she was, living like a princess, when her friends were grueling away at the base under the threat of death.

She pushed those thoughts away. _You’re doing this for them. You didn’t know you’d be living like this._ It would do her no good to feel guilty.

So, instead, she spent her days practicing her forms, using her staff against invisible opponents. At night, she slept restlessly; not only was she so unused to such luxury, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that she wasn’t completely alone.

* * *

On the morning of her eighth day there, Ben Kenobi’s Force ghost greeted her several minutes after she’d woken.

_“Good morning, Rey. I see you’re adjusting nicely.”_

Rey nodded. “It’s…nice here. I feel guilty. My friends…”

He smiled grimly. _“To be in such luxury when your friends struggle. But remember, Rey, you are doing this for them.”_

“Will it – will it help them? I’m not wasting my time?”

_“You are wise to question this, but no, Rey, you are not wasting any time.”_

Rey sighed and flopped back down on the bed. “I have to meditate, and I’d like to practice some forms,” she said, more to herself than to Ben.

 _“Your host would like to meet you, Rey,”_ Ben said, surprising her.

“I _knew_ someone else was in here!”

_“You are strong in the Force. So is your host.”_

“Where am I meeting him? Her? It?”

Ben Kenobi’s eyes held a secret. _“You’ll feel it, through the Force. Just be receptive.”_

With that, he flickered out of her sight.

Rey groaned. Stupid Jedi and they’re stupid cryptic messages.

 _Come to think of it,_ she mused, _the most direct Luke’s ever been with me was when he told me not to come here._

Rey resigned herself. She made herself presentable, tying her hair up into three buns, washing her face, and donning a clean tunic from the wardrobe.

She sat down to meditate, and waited to feel…whatever Ben Kenobi said she would feel.

Assuming the Lotus position and shutting her eyes, she slowed her breathing and tried to lose herself, to feel the Force around her as Luke had taught her to. She reached out with it, felt around the entire castle, probed and prodded until she felt –

As soon as she touched it, she recoiled. There it was again, that very old, very great power. It was hot to the touch and so cloying that Rey felt herself gasping for air. Just when it threatened to overwhelm her, there was another presence in her mind, a dark, heavy one that reminded her of thunderclouds.

_I’m here, if you’ll meet me._

Rey’s eyes flew open. That must’ve been her host.

She hesitated, wondering what she should do. Ben had told her to meet her host, but…

She grabbed her staff. She wouldn’t go unarmed. She knew that her host was in the dining hall, sure as she knew that her host was a very, very, powerful Force-user.

Rey steeled herself, focused her mind. Whatever it was, whatever it wanted with her, she was going to make sure her friends were safe, that Ben Kenobi was good on his word.

She swallowed thickly and, staff in hand, pushed open the door to her room.


	2. Chapter 2

Rey’s feet carried her through a series of turns until she’d made her way to what she’s come to know as the dining hall.

And there, standing at the head, was a man in a mask.

At least, she had to assume it was a man – the breadth of the shoulders and lack of hips left little room for interpretation. His mask glinted in the candlelight.

“Hello,” he greeted. He sat and gestured for her to the do the same; there was a place set directly to the right of him. There was food – more food than Rey had ever seen – on the table.

“Where am I?” Rey asked as she approached. “What is this place?”

“You are my guest,” he said. There was a voice modulator – there had to be. No natural voice had that sort of pitch and depth.

“Why am I here? What’s your name?”

He peered at her. It was unnerving to carry a conversation with someone when you couldn’t see their face, Rey realized. She was searching for facial cues that weren’t there.

There was a pregnant pause, where he reached across the table and began serving himself. It was some sort of meat, cooked to perfection and dripping with juices. He dropped some onto her plate as well – using only the Force. He did the same with the vegetables, with the drink. Rey wondered if he would take off the mask to eat. “I was under the impression that you wanted to learn. I can teach you.”

“To learn,” Rey repeated flatly. “Ben Kenobi sent me here to _learn._ ”

And there it is, her ire rising under her skin and boiling over. “My friends are – they’re _dying!_ A mega-Sith Lord is _corrupting_ the galaxy and _Ben Kenobi’s Force ghost thinks my energy is best spent in a mountain?”_ She slammed her hands on the table and shot up in her seat, glaring at him.

Her host stood so fast that the chair he was sitting in toppled over. He reached out a hand, and Rey felt herself being lifted up off her feet. The pressure was centered on her throat – it eased up after half a second, as if her host realized that she needed to breathe.

“If you think for half a second that you stand a chance against Supreme Leader Snoke, you’re wrong.”

He set her down none-too-gently; Rey landed on her feet, but stumbled.

“Luke was teaching me _just fine,”_ she snarled. This – this _kriffing fucker –_ was humiliating her?

“Skywalker cannot show you how to best Snoke!”

“And you can?” she shot back. She grabbed her staff, kept it at the ready. “You’re nothing but a creature in a mask.”

She couldn’t see his face, but years on Jakku had taught Rey how to read body language before facial expressions – some of the aliens were nearly impossible to read or to compare to a human – and if the way his shoulders tightened and his fingers twitched, he looked downright _affronted._

But he didn’t take off his mask. “Be that as it may be,” he said, “I am the only one who can help you defeat Supreme Leader – Snoke.”

Rey glared at him. “Then why wait nearly a week to reveal yourself?”

“I had other business to attend to.”

“More important than saving the galaxy?”

“The galaxy is not under as imminent at threat as you suspect.”

“My friends – people I love – they’re in danger, and I’d say it’s _imminent!”_

“The plural of anecdote is not data,” he said, and Rey could hear the dry humor in his voice. “You’ll do well to remember that.”

Rey opened her mouth to retort, but found she had nothing to say to him.

“It will take several weeks to complete your training,” he said. He sat back down, ignoring Rey’s complete lack of interest in the meal. “We will meet at first light –“

“There’s no way to tell when that is, we’re inside a _fucking mountain –_ “

“And train until noontime. There will be a break for lunch, and then meditation, and then we will train until dinnertime – or exhaustion, whichever comes first.”

There was a challenge there – Rey could sense it. She steeled herself. She grew up on Jakku and fought tooth and nail for her right to live for the past fourteen years.

Exhaustion was an old friend to her at this point.

“Sit. Eat,” he instructed. He still hadn’t taken off his mask, or touched his own food. “You are painfully skinny. You’ll need proper nutrition if you’re training with me.”

He stood. “Meet me tomorrow at first light.”

And he left through the door at the far end of the room, without giving Rey the slightest idea of _when_ first light was or _where_ she should meet him. She was angry, and bitter – she’d take it out on him tomorrow – but presently she took it out on her food, stabbing the meat with her fork and tearing at it with her teeth. It was good – it was _fantastic –_ and once again, she felt guilty for living in luxury when her friends were at war.

She pushed it away. Guilt would do no good, here.

* * *

_Many years ago, there was a little boy. He was a prince, in his own right. He was told where to go, given free reign of his realm in the Light._

_But he strayed too close to the Dark; he crossed the event horizon and was pulled in, trapped by gravity, stuck in orbit around a dying star, slave to an old, withered, creature who wanted the Prince’s power. And the Price wanted to be free, so when the troll creature offered him a boon, he accepted._

_But the Prince was young, and naïve._

_He was cursed to be bound to the will of this horrific creature, to do terrible things. His grandfather’s ghost interceded on his behalf; he made a bargain with the creature, said that if someone – and equally powerful creature of the Light – could duel him, and win the Prince’s loyalty, he would be free._

_Now, trolls are tricky creatures, but they cannot resist a game. He accepted. Once the Price found this creature of the Light, he would have a year and a day to win its loyalty, to have this creature fight on his behalf._

_So the Prince, with the help of his grandfather’s ghost, began his search._

_But there was no one will a pull to the Light strong enough._

_Until one day, there was._

_And as soon as the Prince found her, the clock began ticking._

_One year. One day._

_He would be free._

**Author's Note:**

> I'm super nervous about how this will be received - what do you guys think? Worth continuing?


End file.
